Brother of Darkness
by Shade the Hero
Summary: Grace lived a very boring life until she was sucked into a video game. Now she's having a hard time believing the people around her are real. Will she ever accept the truth and find her way home? Who is that voice that calls to her in her dreams and why does it sound so lonely?
1. Boring Life

_**I know what you're probably thinking, "But Shade, you have way too many stories unfinished. Why are you starting another one?" Truth is, I needed a little break from writing those stories. It goes like the saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees" it means your too close to the situation to see the big picture. That's my problem with those other stories. that being said, don't think I haven't been writing for them. I have chapters started for four of my stories. They're just not ready yet and probably won't be for a while. The stories I have chapters started for is "Saving the Lost", "Code Keyblade", "Lost in the Shadows" and "Ponysona 3". I did have a chapter started for "Fool's Checkmate" but I didn't like it so, it needs to be re-written. **_

_**But anyway, I'm talking too much. This new story will be different in many ways. I'll be trying out different skills in here, hoping that with practice my battle scenes will become better detailed than before and also my ability to describe things will improve. **_

_**Okay, I've kept you long enough. Just sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy. ^^**_

_**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all related characters belong to Disney and Square Enix. All other references in this chapter belong to their respective owners. **_

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**Brother of Darkness**

**Chapter One**

Grace Robbin lived the life of an ordinary woman in her mid twenties. Working a job, taking care of her house which she had recently bought after college and struggling to keep up with the bills. She worked five days a week and hated her job, but it paid well enough. She couldn't complain about her position, thanks to her college degree she got paid more than most people would. She kept mostly to herself and had few friends to hang out with, most of her friends were online, though they lived hundreds to thousands of miles away. Too far to visit.

It was another Friday afternoon when she clocked out of her desk job. Making sure her cubical computer was turned off and her files were put away she picked up her purse and got up. "Have a good weekend, Grace!" called Damian, her co-worker. He was a year younger and severely underpaid, but he never complained. He often told her he preferred the grunt work over making the serious decisions.

"You too, Damian," she replied as she headed to the elevator. Taking one last sip of the soda that had kept her awake she tossed the empty can into the trash bin. The elevator dinged and she made her way inside. The doors began to slide shut when, "Hold it!"

A hand stopped them at the last moment as another, younger girl stepped inside. It was the one person Grace didn't want to be stuck in an elevator with. The boss's daughter. She was nineteen and a total brat. She thought she was always better than anyone else in the office because her 'daddy' owned it. She thought she could walk over everyone and thanks to her status, she pretty much could.

As Grace made to push the first floor Tiffany leaned over and pushed the seventh, knocking Grace's hand out of the way. "I don't have time to wait."

Grace mentally rolled her eyes. She really couldn't stand the brat, but she never talked back either. She wasn't afraid of losing her job, she was just more polite and mature than that. Luckily for Tiffany, Grace was also very patient.

As they got to the top floor Tiffany stormed out of the elevator before the doors had fully opened. Grace rolled her eyes and reached to hit the first floor button when she heard the annoying whine of a spoiled brat.

"Daddy, I want a PS4! You said if I got my grade up you'd get me one."

"For your birthday sweetheart. That's still five months away," came the gruff voice of a man in his late forties. It sounded strained as if he was just as annoyed by the girl's whining as Grace was.

"That's not fair! They're making Kingdom Hearts Three! What if it comes out before then? I wanna get it!"

_"God, how old is this girl, eight?! She needs to fricking grow up!" _ Grace kept her thoughts to herself, but they weren't always polite.

"Alright, Tiffy, alright. I'll get you one this weekend," the man gave in and the girl squealed in delight. Grace was thankful when the doors finally closed.

When she was finally alone Grace let out a loud and relieved sigh. It was so hard to bite her tongue and not openly gag at that girl's behavior. Grace could count on one hand how many times she acted like that around her parents. One of her father's golden rules were: No means no.

Once outside Grace headed for the bus stop, only to gasp and take off running as the bus was just closing its doors to leave. "Wait! Please!"

The bus started to pull out of the stop when someone in the back saw her and pulled the cord. The bus driver stopped and opened the doors, expecting someone to get off when Grace caught up.

"Thanks," she panted as she slid her bus card into the machine. "Don't thank me," the driver replied, "someone pulled the stop cord."

Grace looked around and saw a young teenage boy with brown hair sitting in the rear. He waved to her and smiled. She saw that there was also an empty seat by him and headed over to take the spot. The bus driver waited for her to sit down before putting the bus back in drive.

"Thanks for that, I wasn't looking forward to walking home."

"No sweat," he replied.

Grace couldn't help but look at the young teen. He looked about sixteen years old, with a white T-shirt, black, open jacket and baggy camo pants. He had headphones on and a PSP in his hands. Grace decided to keep the conversation going.

"What game are you playing?"

"Birth by Sleep."

"What's that?"

The teen handed the game system to her and explained. "It's a Kingdom Hearts game."

_"Again with Kingdom Hearts? Is the game still really that popular?"_ she thought. She looked down at the screen and tilted her head in confusion. "Is that, that nobody kid? The one that was half of Sora?"

It was true, Grace knew what Kingdom Hearts was, but she hadn't gotten very far into the games, only playing the first two.

"Who, Roxas? Naw, that's Ventus. They look a lot alike, but they're very different." the kid pulled out his game guide that he had in his backpack. "See? Here's a better picture of him." he turned to the page showing Ventus in a full, better quality picture.

"He still looks just like Roxas," Grace replied. She realized how far out of the loop she was if Sora was no longer the hero and there was a kid that looked like Roxas as the playable character. Then again, these games were by the same people who made Final Fantasy and she was always lost when it came to those games.

The teen tried explaining, but lost her half way through. The teen only laughed at her expression. "It's okay," he commented, "it does get confusing, even if you follow the storyline, but I won't give away any spoilers."

The bus slowed down and the teen looked out the window. "My stop's coming up."

As the bus came to a stop he slung his backpack over one shoulder and put the PSP back in his pocket. "It was nice talking to you, Ms. ...?"

"Grace, and you?"

"Name's Sky."

Grace smiled as he headed for the doors. "Hope to see you again, Sky." He looked back and raised a friendly hand as he descended the steps.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Grace couldn't wait to get home. All she wanted to do was make a bowl of ramen, grab a soda and plop on the couch. Friday nights were her lazy nights and she was looking forward to sitting back and doing absolutely nothing.

After getting off the bus it was only a block to her house, but she had to cross a busy intersection to get there. On the corner of the busy street was a game store. Grace had often gone in there a few times to see what was going on in the game world, a fun realm she had left behind. Most of the time there would be some kind of card game tournament going on. The last time she came in during the final round and the two gamers were fully into their match. As she walked inside she discovered today was no different.

"I attack with my Blue Eyes Ultimate and wipe out your life points!" shouted one boy.

The second one flipped up one of the cards they had face down on the mat. "I activate my Magic Cylinder trap card and turn your own dragon's attack right back at you!"

Grace rolled her eyes as the second boy made a sound for the attack. She knew the game they were playing, but never understood why people thought their moves needed a sound effect.

"Hey, haven't seen you around in a while, everything going okay?" The store-keeper asked Grace as she approached.

"I'm doing alright, just busy working," she walked up to the shelf that held the PS2 video games. "There aren't many PS2 games, you selling a bunch?"

The store keeper shook his head. "With the PS4 out now, we're not planning to order any more of them. Just PS3 and up."

"Are you serious? That sucks." Well Grace was screwed. She only had a PS2. Her shoulders sagged a bit when she didn't see any game that appealed to her, then again there were only about twelve games she had to choose from and most of them were either for little kids or games too involved with killing. The very thought of earning points for killing someone made Grace sick. It was no wonder crime was on the rise in her city.

The shop keeper saw her deflated expression and went into the back room. He emerged a minute later and looked around for Grace. He found her over by the packs of trading cards.

"Hey, remember three years ago when you brought in a bunch of your Playstation games?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Well, I remember one you sold to me and you seemed pretty sad about it,"

"Yeah,..." she answered again, wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, another copy of the game came in and I was waiting for you to swing by and see if you wanted it," he held out the game for her to see.

Grace couldn't believe it. It was odd enough that it was brought up twice in one day, let alone three. In the shop keeper's hands was a copy of Kingdom Hearts Two.

Grace looked up at the older man. "You've been saving this, just for me?"

The man scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. I mean, you looked like you really didn't want to part with the last one and I felt kinda bad when I sold it, so when this one came in I wanted to see if you wanted it."

Grace remembered why she had to sell some of her games. It was to help pay for her college books. She had already sold her Nintendo DS and all of her Pokémon games except for one which held her strongest team, she had also sold a lot of her anime and movie collection. The only anime movie she had left was Advent Children. She just couldn't bring herself to part with that one.

Grace realized she was still standing there making him wait for an answer. "Sorry, Yes, I'd like to buy it."

She followed him up to the counter and paid for it. One good thing about the older system games were they were cheaper now. Well, except for the rare ones. Grace saw an original copy of Final FantasyVII in the glass case. It was brand new, but she didn't have seventy bucks to spare, but still, she was tempted.

_"Maybe another time, Cloud."_ she thought to herself as the shop keeper put the game in a bag and handed it to her.

She finally made it home as the sun had set. Tossing the keys on the table she laid her things down and fell into a chair. She was so tired she could have fallen asleep right there, but her growling stomach reminded her that she was hungry. She got up and headed into the kitchen.

A short time later she was sitting on the couch, eating her bowl of ramen and mixing in a slice of American cheese and stirring it around as it melted into the juice. She liked it that way as it added a bit more flavor into the mix. Grabbing the remote she flipped through the channels, stopping when she found she hadn't missed one of her favorite shows.

_"It's undercooked! I can't do this anymore..." _The chef on TV threw the raw piece of fish on the floor and jerked his finger towards the back of the kitchen. _"GET OUT!" _

"You tell 'em Ramsey," Grace commented to herself in between bites.

After dinner Grace had washed the dishes and got a load of laundry ready for tomorrow. She sat down at the table and looked over today's mail. "Junk, junk, phony sweepstakes, junk, bill, bill..." she looked at both of them. The light and water bill were both due. Grace let her head thunk on to the table as she mentally kicked herself. In these hard times, she often had to choose which bill to pay. Sometimes it would cut in to the money for groceries. This would be one of those times. It looked like another week of eating cheap food.

_"I wish my life was better."_ she mentally wished.

She turned her head to the side as something caught her eye. It was the bag from the game store. Figuring nothing else could lift her spirit she hoped that a trip down memory lane might help her forget her troubles even just for a little bit and took out the game.

Walking over to where she had stashed her old PS2 she pulled it out and hooked it up to the TV. Even though it was almost eleven years old, the system still worked really well. There was one faulty cord that acted up every now and then, but with its age she was pretty impressed with it. Ripping apart the plastic wrapper, Grace opened up the case and checked the disc. It looked brand new, not a single scratch or smudge mark on it. She smiled and put it in.

"Okay, I don't remember crap about this game. Maybe I'll get lucky and beat it this time." Grace couldn't remember why she couldn't beat it before. She knew the reason in the first game. That stupid witch's castle in that one world got her so lost it took away all the fun of when she finally found her way to where she needed to go. She did get enjoyment out of beating the witch, until she turned into a giant dragon and killed her easily, but the second game was a total mystery.

The title screen appeared and Grace set the controls for a new game. "Since I don't remember jack crap about this game, let's go with beginner."

As the screen faded and the Heart in the title logo spun Grace couldn't help but smile. Disney always had a way of doing that to her. A simple joy of letting grown up problems melt away and just enjoy the moment, let loose and have fun.

Grace saw an image of Sora standing on a dirt path on a grassy field at night.

_"A scattered dream that's like a far off memory,...a far off memory that's like a scattered dream...I wanna line the pieces up. Yours and mine..."_

As Grace watched the opening and enjoyed the music she failed to notice her PS2 heating up. A strange energy emitted from it and slowly traveled down the controller's cord.

Grace had never played any other games except for the first and second and was trying to figure out what each scene meant in the intro, knowing that like the first, it would mean something else somewhere in the game. She never understood the long white halls and didn't know who Sora was fighting with the scythe. The spiral stairs also confused her. Why were there two Rikus? One running alongside Mickey Mouse and the other running the other way, still wearing that dark suit from the first game. She was lost and hoped that the game would some how explain what was up.

The energy was almost to the controller as the game console continued pulsing red.

In the intro, Sora had just landed on the beach, laying in between Kairi and Riku and holding their hands in each of his. They were all asleep and suddenly the screen melted away to reveal a boy with blonde hair descending into what seemed like water. This was the kid she had mistaken for that other one in that teen's game. The current flipped him upright and he slowly landed on something solid.

Grace was so into the intro that she failed to notice the controller heat up or the red wave of energy that engulfed her hands. The moment the boy on the screen covered his eyes from a light from below the screen flashed with an explosion of color. Grace squinted her eyes from the brightness, but it didn't fade like it was suppose to.

"Oh great, don't tell me it fro- What the hell?!" She looked down at her hands and saw what was happening. She tried, but she couldn't let go. The red energy began to burn as it crawled farther up her arms and the screen's light got brighter.

Soon it engulfed the whole room, Grace screamed. When the light faded the room was empty. The game console sparked and shorted out and the screen went black.

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**_I think we can all agree that Grace needed this. Her life was a bit depressing and really boring. _**

**_Questions? Let me know in a review and I'll answer in the next update. :)_**


	2. It's Not Funny Anymore

**Chapter Two**

Everything was pitch black. Grace looked everywhere for a light source, but found nothing, nor did she feel anything. she couldn't feel the controller in her hands, she couldn't feel the couch that she was sitting on, she couldn't even feel her feet touching the floor!

"What happened?" she asked, surprised when her voice echoed.

Her house wasn't nearly big enough to carry an echo. It was a small one-bedroom with one bathroom. It wasn't old or crumbling, and luckily it wasn't infested with any type of insects, but the fact that her voice echoed made her feel a bit nervous. What made her more nervous what the voice that answered her.

"Who's there?"

Grace froze, not that they could probably see her, but the fact that she wasn't alone in her own house made her wish she could reach for her aluminum bat. She tried to stay silent, hoping whoever it was would just grab what they wanted and leave. She'd call the police later.

"Hello?" the asked called again, to Grace's surprise, it sounded more frightened than she felt.

Grace tried to hold a demanding tone as she answered, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know where here is, exactly," it replied. "I just know I've been here for a long time."

"You've been in my house for a long time? How long? Last night? This morning? If you tried anything pal, I'm gonna beat your ass and then call the cops. You get me!"

"Haha, you and whose army?" the voice laughed, it seemed a little less afraid than before.

Grace still wasn't letting her guard down. "Answer my question."

"Sounds like you're just as lost as I am," the voice replied. It had lost its previous humor, but it didn't seem as frightened as before. For some reason, unknown to Grace, she believed him.

"Where are we? Because unless I blacked out I could swear I'm still in my living room. That flash of light was probably caused by a weird black out."

"Sorry to tell you, but this is the realm of darkness. Probably the deepest part since there's no light what-so-ever." the voice replied, sounding spiteful. As if it had just realized it had been cursed. If Grace could see this person she could almost guess that they were crossing their arms and leaning against something. She had spent enough time hearing others chat in their cubicles at work to guess their actions and she was usually right.

She was about to ask further until she felt something. It was painful. There was a faint sound of a motor and a muffled voice that was barely audible.

"What is that?" she asked, but the voice had gone silent. Grace called out to it. "Hey, you still there? Answer me!"

Nothing.

"Come back, please! Tell me how to get out of here!"

"Take it easy, you're gonna be okay," a new voice replied.

Grace became nervous once again, not sure who this new person was and if he intended her harm, but she could definitely tell it was a he.

"Hey," he tried again and Grace could feel him gently shaking her shoulders, "You still with me? Hang in there."

Slowly, Grace opened her eyes. Everything around her was bright and blurry, but as her eyes came into focus she saw the outline of a man. She blinked a few times and soon the man's features became clear. He had bright, blue eyes and dark spiky hair. He had a purple sweater-like outfit and a black shoulder guards. On his back rested a large sword. He smiled at her when he saw she had woken up. "Hey, you okay? You had me worried."

Grace instantly began to panic. Yeah, he may have had a kind face, but he was armed and he was standing over her. Out of pure fear she slapped him hard across the face. He flinched, but that was about it, though it was clear it stung.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his cheek that was quickly turning red.

Grace swallowed, trying to find her voice. When it came out, it was raspy, as if she hadn't used it in a while. "W-who are you? Why are you in my house?"

She knew she wasn't in her house, judging from the daylight that surrounded her, but fear was making her stupid.

The man sighed as he stood up and gave her some space. "My name is Zack. I saw you fly out of a strange portal and found you laying here in the dirt."

"The dirt?...Portal?" Grace looked around, taking in her surroundings for the first time. She was in a canyon of some sorts. The dirt and surrounding cliffs were blue and there was a ramp leading to a highway in the distance. Grace squinted her eyes and saw what looked like a city off in the distance. This place seemed oddly familiar to her, but she couldn't place where. Except for frozen landscapes, she didn't think anyplace had blue cliffs.

Zack scratched the back of his head as he turned and sighed with annoyance. "Man, figures, just when I was making some good time. It'll take me forever to get there now."

With his back turned Grace was able to get a good look at the large sword on his back. Why on earth did it look so familiar to her? It bothered her more than the cliffs.

Zack saw her admiring his weapon and drew it out for her to see. "Like it? It's the mark of a SOLDIER. Only the best can wield a buster like this, though."

Grace blinked a few times at him...until it clicked. "Soldier?" She suddenly burst out laughing, causing Zack to tilt his head in confusion.

"Okay, guys. The jig is up. I don't know who found out I liked video games, but that was pretty clever. I'll admit it." She looked around, waiting for someone to come out laughing.

No one answered, so Grace turned to Zack. "Is that you Damian? You really play the part well. I don't know much about Zack, but you seem to have him down pretty good. Why you've got him wielding Cloud's sword I'll never know."

Zack was about to ask if she was feeling okay when she mentioned his friend. "You know Cloud?"

Grace sighed a little, "Not as much as I probably should, considering he's one of my favorite characters in Kingdom Hearts, but I just haven't had enough to buy the actual game he's from."

Zack really didn't understand much of what she was saying, but the fact that she knew Cloud was enough for him to invite her along. "Come on,"

He took her by the hand over to his motorcycle. Grace resisted. "Damian, please. It was a clever joke, but enough's enough. I want to go home now."

Zack scratched the back of his neck. This was going to be fun to explain. "I don't know who this 'Damian' guy is, but my name is Zack Fair. I was on my way to Radiant Garden when I saw you fall from the sky through a dark portal. I don't know where your home is, but your best chance to get there is from the city."

All of Grace's previous good mood vanished. She approached him and poked him roughly in the chest. "Listen you, if this is some ruse that Tiffany came up with for one of her sick pranks, I'm not laughing. Now, quit tryin' to keep the act going. I"m not falling for it and it isn't funny anymore. Now shut up, and take me home!"

Zack really didn't know what to make of this girl, other than she was completely nuts. He was about to try one last time to reason with her when something caught his attention. "Look out!"

He shoved her to the side as he brought up his sword and sliced clean through large green monster. Grace hit the ground hard and looked up at him just in time to see him vanquish it. Her eyes went wide in terror and astonishment.

"That sword is real! That monster! Wh-what's going on?!"

Zack readied his sword again. "It's not over yet, stay behind me."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than five more large monsters appeared. Three morning stars and two large bodies. Grace stared at the large bodies as cold fear gripped her heart. She knew what these things were now. They were heartless!

Zack glanced around him, taking in their situation. "When I say get down, I want you to do it."

Grace nodded frantically.

Zack took a stance and prepared to go for the large body that was standing in front of him.

"Now!"

Grace hit the dirt and covered her head with her hands. Zack went to slice the large body, but vanished in a burst of speed. The heartless looked around and scratched its head in confusion. Zack appeared behind the morning star to the right and sliced it in two. A small crystallized heart drifted up into the sky before it vanished. Zack wen tot work do the same with the others, his insane speed almost making it appear like he could teleport. From one heartless to the next he swung his mighty sword. He had beaten four of them when he saw the first large body about to use a body slam on the girl. Zack had to aim carefully as he threw his sword down. It came crashing on the large body's head, instantly killing it.

As the last heart rose into the sky, Zack landed gracefully and retrieved his sword. Sheathing it on his back and held out a hand for his new companion. "Hey, it's okay now. They're gone."

Grace looked up at him as tears welled in her eyes. She saw him give her a friendly smile and she lost it. She flung her arms around his neck and sobbed.

"What the hell is going on? I was almost killed by heartless?! I wanna go home!" She hadn't broken down like this since she was fourteen, but at this point, she didn't care. This wasn't normal. She wanted so badly for this to be a prank, even if it were one of Tiffany's ideas. At least it would be in her own world, her own reality, her own life.

Zack hesitantly patted her back with a comforting hand. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'll keep you safe."

Grace slowly stopped wailing nonsense that he couldn't understand, but she was still crying. He let out a defeated sigh. "Wonder how I'm going to explain this to Aerith?" He suddenly lifted his head up. "Aerith! Come on, we've got to get going, it's still dangerous out here."

"You mean, more heartless could show up?"

"Yeah. I don't think you're ready to face more of those guys."

Grace shook her head as she allowed him to lead her to his motorcycle. She sat in the side car as he jumped into the driver's seat. He revved the bike up and took off down the path.

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_**You'd think she'd be happy that her life isn't so boring anymore. And who can actually say that they got to hug Zack? Girl needs to stop being afraid and realize how awesome this is. She's living a fangirl's dream! (I'm so evil. xD) All joking aside, there is a lot of things coming Grace's way that she will and won't be expecting.** _


	3. Watch Out For Doors

_Well, not exactly the update I had in mind, but a sever case of writer's block has stopped the other updates in their tracks. I hope you all can forgive me. I know you've been waiting for updates for other stories, and I promise they're coming...it's just going to take a bit longer. ^^; _

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**Chapter Three**

The scene in what used to be Merlin's cottage in Radiant Garden was a strange one. The wizard had been kind enough to give it to Aerith who had done some redecorating and made it her own. she kept the computer where it was, because she agreed with Cid that it still held importance even though the one in Ansem's study was far more superior. It never hurt to have a back up, just in case.

Zack was trying to apologize for taking so long and explain what had delayed him. Aerith had her back turned to him with her arms crossed. She appeared to be angry, but it was only for show. She was glad he had made it back safely. Grace was sitting at the desk, the chair was comfy enough, but her thoughts were busy trying to make sense of all this.

_"Okay, so Aerith is here and I'm actually in Hollow Bastion. Why do they keep calling it Radiant Garden? What's Zack doing in Kingdom Hearts anyway? True, he's part of the Final Fantasy crew, but he was never in the crossover games, was he? Maybe I should have played more than just the first two games. Hell, I didn't go over half of the second one. Just enough to get me to the head bad guy and kick his butt." _

Grace blinked as movement snapped her out of her thoughts. Zack was really trying to get Aerith's attention now by flailing his arms, when that didn't work he tried with a goofy smile. That worked. Aerith smiled at him and failed to stifle a giggle. He expressed a relieved smile. Grace thought it was sweet before getting back to her thoughts.

_"If I really am in the game, then where am I in the storyline? Has Sora already been here? Probably, I don't remember running into Zack early on or for this place to belong to Aerith. Okay, think Grace. What happened in this world the last time you played?...You bought some weapons for Donald and Goofy, stocked up on potions, talked to Scrooge about his ice cream then headed over to Merlin's and ran into Yuffie. There was something about heading over to the Bailey and the rest was a mystery. Grace remembered she also had to fight in some big fight in this world. There was that annoying fight with that water nobody guy, 'whatshisname' with the magic guitar that took her about seven tries before she beat him. Then something happened to Goofy. Mickey got pissed and I ran after them who left me behind. After that...after that what happened? Oh yeah! The Final Fantasy characters helped out. I wished I could fight with Tifa on my team more often. The girl had some serious strength. Then there was Leon and Yuffie and...who was the last one that helped?"_

Grace's eyes had been drifting over the room and came to rest on Zack's sword that was resting against the computer desk.

_"Of course, how could I forget he had been here to? That was the hardest part, right before the save point. Several of those green monsters and other annoying heartless and there came Cloud. And I call myself a fan? Pfft. Boy am I dumb."_

Something occurred to her then. Something that made her feel queasy. She remembered from the first game that one of them, either Leon or Aerith mentioned that this was their original world.

_"I guess the guys behind the game didn't want to include Midgar or Edge,"_ Grace thought.

But the feeling she was experiencing now was worse than when the heartless appeared. Something she couldn't be protected from. The first reason being he wasn't a monster. The second, she hated this. Here she was in her early twenties and she was still blushing like a school girl over a fictional character. Okay, maybe not so fictional anymore. If Zack and Aerith were real then,...

"I need some air."

Grace stood up and headed for the door, ignoring the concerned look from Aerith and the confused look from Zack. She needed to get out of the room that suddenly felt so small and suffocating. Her nerves were getting to her and although she wasn't claustrophobic, she sure felt like it at the moment.

Right as she reached for the door handle the door flew open, the edge slamming into her head and knocking her out.

_. . ._

"Boy, that must've hurt."

Grace recognized that voice as the one she heard before in the darkness. She opened her eyes and was only half surprised to find out everything was pitch black.

"What happened before?" she asked. "I felt pain and then heard Zack's voice and you vanished."

"Seems you can come and go from this place freely," the voice replied.

Grace was giving him a deadpan stare until she realized he probably couldn't see it. "You're kidding right? I'd love to leave this place right now, but I can't. I don't even know how I got here this time."

"Not surprising, considering someone hit you with a door." There was an amused chuckle in the voice's words and it irked Grace. She expected a headache when she woke up. The voice spoke up again.

"I like you. What's your name?"

"Grace," she replied.

"Grace? That's it?"

"That's all you're getting. I don't give out my last name to strangers." Grace's sanity may be in question, but her common sense wasn't.

"Fair enough," the voice replied.

"So, who are you? I'd feel a little better if I knew your name, instead of just calling you 'The Voice'."

"Sadly, I don't remember my real name," he replied. "But, before being trapped here, my jailor called me 'The Leftovers', whatever that means."

"Leftovers?" This confused Grace even more. "That name sucks. How about Tamashi?"

"Tamashi?" The voice repeated, "What's that mean?"

"It's Japanese, it means Soul."

"Tamashi, hmm...I like it," the voice replied.

Grace smiled, thankful that she had been looking up some Japanese words the other night to help an old highschool friend study for her college test. "Good, so from now on you're Tamashi."

"Sounds fine by me," replied Tamashi as he adjusted to the idea of acknowledging his new name. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad after all.

The both of them heard muffled sounds from within the darkness.

"Sounds like you're starting to wake up Grace. We'll have to wait until the next time you pass out to converse."

Grace couldn't ignore the humor in Tamashi's voice as he slowly began to fade from her mind as the other voices became clearer. She kept her eyes closed even after regaining consciousness. She wanted to listen in and possibly find out more.

_. . ._

Yuffie looked over the girl before turning to around. "Jeez, that's one nasty bump! Did you have to knock her out?"

"How was I suppose to know someone was standing behind the door," retorted the Spiky haired blonde.

When Cloud had seen Zack's motorcycle parked outside he hurried over to Merlin's where he figured his friend would go first. In his haste he had opened the door all too quickly and heard a loud 'Clunk' before seeing someone fall flat on the ground. He already felt bad enough without the ninja princess rubbing it in.

Grace chanced a small peek at her surroundings. From where she lay on the bed she could see Yuffie with her back to her, glaring at the one who had knocked her out, but she couldn't see him with Yuffie blocking her view. She saw Leon leaning against the computer desk. Aerith and Zack were sitting at the table and Grace did another small scan of the room, but didn't see anyone else.

Leon looked like his eyes were closed, but he was a lot more aware then he let on. "She's awake," he stated.

Grace mentally cursed him as she slowly sat up, holding her head and tried to make it look like she hadn't been awake for the past three minutes.

Yuffie turned around to face her with a sympathetic smile, "You okay?"

"My head feels like it's split in two, but other than the migraine I'm fine."

Yuffie turned to glare at Cloud. "Nice goin'!"

The soldier huffed and closed his eyes. He had his back leaned against the wall next to the front door.

Now that she was sitting up, Grace took a good look around the room. When she saw everyone that was there she sighed in defeat. "Well, that settles it. I'm really not dreaming. This has to be real."

"Still think my name's Damian?" asked Zack.

"No," Grace replied, "and I'm sorry for flipping out before. It's just...it's a lot to take in."

"Well, it was your first time facing a heartless, it's only natural to be afraid at first," Zack reasoned in understanding.

Grace shook her head. "But, I'm not usually like that. I'm normally quiet, reasonable, down to earth. I see things for what they are, deal with any problem I'm faced with and never lose my cool."

"You sound just like Cloud," Yuffie replied with a laugh.

What Yuffie said reminded Zack of something that happened earlier. "So Grace, how do you know Cloud anyway?"

"Huh?" That question had caught her off guard. The rest of the room felt the same.

"Back in the Great Maw, you mentioned Cloud when you were looking at my sword."

Crap. How could she have forgotten that little slip up. She should have kept her big mouth shut.

"I've never seen her before."

Grace blinked and looked over towards the door and froze. Holy crap, he was actually HERE?!

_"Breathe Grace, breathe. Don't lose it, just relax, you can do this. In...out...in...out..."_ She kept mentally trying to compose herself. She would not break down, if she can have the courage to tell off her boss when he thought he could walk all over her on her first day then surely she could handle talking to this guy. True, he was _only_ the most _famous_ character from Final Fantasy and her most favorite video game character of all time and he kicked ass in the movie. But it was no biggie, even though it turned out he was actually REAL!

She chanced a small glance his way and faltered when she saw he was looking back.

_"I can't do this!"_ she mentally cursed herself and rose up from the bed. She hurried towards the door and closed her eyes as she opened it and rushed out, her heart skipping a beat as she passed him, a look of confusion plain on his face.

* * *

_We may not have a face to the voice yet, but at least he has a name. It wasn't easy trying to come up with a name that would match who the voice really is and what he pretty much represents. That confusion will be explained later. ;) Grace isn't a wimp, but you can't really blame her. She regain her composure soon enough. In the next chapter she recovers from her embarrassment and makes a new friend. _


	4. It's Your Theme

_Another update for this story. It came to me so easily too. Wish some of my other stories were that easy. hope you enjoy this latest update and some of the references I've thrown in. _

* * *

**Chapter Four**

She kept going at a fast pace, but never broke into a run. She was famous at the office for speed-walking. Because of this, she hardly ever missed the elevator and escaped Tiffany's bratty radar at work. Though, Grace would have gladly walked into one of the snotty blonde's childish favors and order her a pizza just to get away from the other Blonde. The one she didn't even bother to apologize to. She just looked at him, froze and bolted. This ticked her off. She hadn't done something this childish since she was seven and her father told her 'no' and she stormed off looking for her mother to whine to.

That was a long time ago and she had grown out of that, or at least she thought she did. Now here she was among some of the coolest people in video game history and she had lost her nerve. She wanted to kick herself so badly and wished Sephiroth would strike her down for her stupidity. Wait...

Grace stopped walking, now at the top of the steps leading from the Bailey to the path that led to Ansem's place. A cold fear gripped Grace as she realized what she had just thought.

_"If Cloud is real then so is he!...not good."_

She tried to push past her shattered emotions and frayed nerves, trying to remember when he had appeared in the game. She knew it was around the time when she (or rather, Sora) left Ansem's after finding out about the Door to Darkness and getting Master Form from the king. She also remembered the fight that awaited her when she reached the end of the Great Maw. Thank the Light that was an optional fight. She had tried a few times to beat him, failed miserably and eventually gave up. Grace knew by defeating Sephiroth there was a neat battle scene and afterwards She would receive the Keyblade, Fenrir. Oh she wanted that Keyblade, but since Sephiroth liked to cheat by hovering ten stories in the air and casting some stupid attack that would sap most of her health she avoided that part of the game and proceeded on to the other worlds.

She sat down on the steps as thoughts and questions continued to swirl in her mind. What part of the story was she in? Judging by Cloud's current attire she was at least in the second's game story-line, since he no longer had a red cape-like scarf and was missing the black wing (thank goodness), there was only one person she knew of that had a black wing and he was the toughest villan she had ever seen. There were a few that came close, but she couldn't think of them at the moment. But some things didn't add up. She knew that even up until the end of the game, the house had belonged to Merlin. Zack certainly wasn't in the second game, at least not the original one. She didn't know what was added in Final Mix. Were the Nobodies still around? When was Sora due to arrive here next? Had he disappeared since he was the playable character in the game and she pretty much concluded that she was somehow pulled into the game? If that was the case then she'd have to fight the main bad guy. Oh that wouldn't end well. She didn't have a Keyblade, in all honesty, she didn't want one. They were awesome, but she preferred a short sword. She didn't need some legendary weapon that only attracted trouble like a magnet.

Grace's next thoughts were about home. What had happened? Was her world stuck in time or was it going on without her? She half wished this was a dream, but she was able to think too clearly for it to be a dream. On rare occasions she could influence her dreams, but never to this extent. If she could she certainly wouldn't have looked like a total idiot in front of everyone. That still ate away at her. Their confused looks, him just staring at her, waiting for her to sound like an insane person declaring that they were all make-believe characters and that their life struggles and pain were nothing but entertainment in a video game. Yeah, that'd go over _really _well. Oh how she wanted to slam her head into a wall, but the door had already given her a nice purple bump that hurt when she touched it. Oh yeah, definitely gonna have a migraine later. She had only fibbed before to save face.

She had to calm herself somehow. She knew she eventually had to go back and face everyone and explain herself. Grace did the only thing she could do. An old trick that never failed. Still sitting down, she leaned her shoulder against the stone wall and closed her eyes. She blocked out everything that was around her. She concentrated on her breathing and listened to her own heartbeat. That was her music. That reminded her. With her eyes still closed she checked her pockets and smiled when she felt the shape of her mp3 player and foldable headphones. That was one part of the real world that came with her. At least she had her tunes to helped soothe her. She wanted to put them on and let the melody of Mat Kearney or Owl City carry her worries away, but then remembered that heartless liked to pop up out of nowhere and decided against it. She was kinda surprised that there were none appearing now, not that she wasn't grateful for the time alone to gather her thoughts and boy did she have a lot. No wonder she was a total mess back there. So much had happened recently that she didn't even get a chance to process what was going on. Blacking out a few times didn't help either.

She suddenly felt like she wasn't alone anymore, as if someone was sitting next to her. Probably one of them that had gone to look for her. From the silence she figured it was probably Zack. He definitely lived up to the hero role. Then again how could he be anything but. Grace didn't know the Soldier's full story, but she did know that he died to protect his best friend. Passing on his legacy to him. She needed to make it up to him for pretty much treating him like crap and being horrible when he was only trying to help. Well, this was as good a time as any. She didn't sense anyone else around so it was a bit easier.

"Listen, I'm Sorry about before," she stated with her eyes closed. It always made apologizing easier.

"Don't be, you were being pressured."

That voice didn't belong to Zack.

Grace felt panic beginning to fester and her breath caught in her throat. No. She refused to freak out again. She took a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves and opened her eyes. Sure enough, sitting next to her on the same step was Cloud. Grace tried to hide a smile. She thought it was so awesome that he had gone to look for her, even if he was probably guilt-tripped by the others, mainly Yuffie.

"Sorry about the door," he said when she didn't answer. It was a strange spot for him to be in. Normally he was the quiet one. He didn't want her to think he was some careless jerk who went around slamming doors into people. When she was still silent he looked over at her and was instantly worried. She looked like she was crying! Did he mess up that badly?

Grace couldn't hold it in anymore. All of her previous nervousness, fear, and actions combined with his apology had done her in and she needed to let it out. She thought to hell with it and let down her walls. And that was how she busted out laughing next to Cloud.

He blinked a few times, though he was at least relieved she wasn't crying. He had made Yuffie cry a few times, but she deserved it, he made Tifa cry twice. Something he regretted, but to make a stranger cry felt pretty bad too, thankfully he was saved from that embarrassment. He just sat there and let her get it out. Figuring she'd feel better.

Grace did eventually calm down seconds later, wiping a tear from her eye. "Thank you. You don't know how badly I needed that."

"Don't mention it," he shrugged. "So, how do you know me?"

_"Straight to the point as always,"_ she thought as she prepared herself for several ways this conversation could end. She had thought about lying at first, but she couldn't do that. Not to Cloud. He of all people deserved the truth. Whether he would believe it or not was an entirely different story.

"First, promise that no matter what I say, you won't think I'm crazy?"

"Alright."

That was easy enough. Grace took another slow breath and braced herself to begin. That's when she got an idea. Pulling out her music player she turned it on and scrolled through the songs. She knew it was in here somewhere. Where was it, where was it, ah! There it is. She and unfolded the headphones and held out to him.

"Put those on and listen."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but did as she asked. She pressed play and he listened as a slow, peaceful melody began to play through the speakers. It took about a minute, but the early stages of the song gave way to a peaceful tune that would best suit the end of a movie when the healing rains would come and restore everything to its former glory.

Grace let the song go on, she couldn't hear it herself, but she had listened to it enough times and couldn't hide her smile. she could tell he was enjoying the music. Three minutes and twenty seconds into the song and she could faintly hear the triumphant sound of the brass instruments. Grace loved that song, not just because of its title, but the music itself was so beautiful. She loved rock, pop and most other kinds of music like any other normal person, but she loved Orchestra, the scores to some of her favorite movies and games were simply amazing.

The song reached six and a half minutes and ended. Grace hit the off button before it could shuffle into another song. Cloud took off the headphones and handed them back to her.

"What was that?"

Again, Grace couldn't keep her smile hidden. She found it ironic, but glad that he obviously liked it, but she decided to toy with him. "It's called an mp3 player. It can hold hundreds of songs and lasts for hours before it needs to be charged."

"Not the device. The song."

It was all Grace could do not to laugh. She gave in, knowing it wasn't nice to tease others for too long, especially when said person was an iconic hero to many, and...was kind of cute too. She mentally slapped herself back to reality. she knew that Cloud belonged to Tifa. She wouldn't dream of getting in the way of those two. She had come across a fanfiction of them once and it was the sweetest thing she had ever read. They were perfect for each other.

"Well," she began, trying to figure out the best way to put this. "It's the main theme from a video game where I'm from, but it's got another name."

He tilted his head slightly, telling her to explain in better detail. Well, here goes nothing.

"It's called 'Cloud's Theme'."

This had the reaction she thought it would. Pure confusion and if he were more vocal would have been accompanied with a 'Huh?'. Again, she decided to put it bluntly, yet gently honest.

"Yes, it's your theme. In my world you're from a video game called Final Fantasy Seven. I know a lot about you, and most of the others for that matter, though I've never personally played the game myself. It's one of the best and because of that, it's not very cheap. Being a classic game doesn't help me out much either."

She couldn't help but think back to that FF7 game just sitting in the display case at the game store. Now she wanted it more than ever and made a mental note to withdraw some money from her account to get it when she got home. Though, after this she knew playing the games would never be the same again.

"The timeline of that game follows your story from when you first joined Avalanche to when you defeated Sephiroth. I'm not sure exactly when it ended, but there were a few games that followed it and a movie, which is awesome." She kept going, explaining how she knew about the first time he appeared in what she called 'Kingdom Hearts One' and then followed with what happened in 'Advent Children' and then ended with what she remembered in 'Kingdom Hearts Two'.

Cloud sat there and listened to her relate his life back to him as if she had been there. At first he wondered if she was a threat, but soon realized that her knowledge and the way she spoke about him told him all he needed to know. She could be trusted. She was definitely considerate, avoiding the parts that bothered him the most as if she fully understood. The way she related the story so flawlessly convinced him to believe her. Some things that she said no one else knew, they were things he had kept to himself, but she knew and understood. she even avoided mentioning anything about his worst embarrassment, though she did reference it as a 'Lavender Nightmare'. He completely agreed with that description. It gave him great pleasure when he set that horrible thing ablaze, though Tifa would **never** let him forget it.

When he surfaced from his thoughts, Cloud looked over at Grace. She seemed nervous again, probably wondering if he believed her and realized, _"Was she waiting for an answer?" _

Little did Cloud know she had asked him something, but he had been silent since she began and prayed that if anything, he wouldn't hate her. Being called crazy she could handle, having her favorite character hate her was something she couldn't.

"That's a lot to take in," he finally said. "No wonder you were so on edge before."

Grace let out a relieved sigh. _He didn't hate her. _"You have no idea. That's just your story. I still have to tell everyone else."

"There's more?"

Grace nodded. "Oh yeah. I know less about the others though. I pretty much know the summary of Zack's story and know enough about Tifa and Aerith. Much less about Yuffie or Cid, other than he has quite the mouth on him and I only know about the Kingdom Hearts version of Leon. I haven't really looked up any information regarding Final Fantasy Eight yet."

"Eight? How many games are there?"

"A lot. The last I checked they were talking about a fifteenth Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts Three, but KH and FF aren't the same thing, they're just connected. Kinda like cousins. Not directly related, but they share a common bond. To be honest, I know more about the Disney side of the games than the Final Fantasty side."

Again, Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Disney?"

Grace was getting tired. "Let's just say I'm well versed in the worlds and leave it at that for now."

Cloud caught on to her irritation and stood up with a smirk. "Well, at least you're not nervous around me anymore. For a while I thought you hated me."

Grace accepted the hand he offered and let him help her up. she returned his smirk with one of her own. "You mean for earlier? Pfft, it was just a door."

He started to turn, "Ready to head back?"

"Sure." Grace smiled and followed him. He was right. She wasn't nervous around him anymore, of anything she felt the same as she did when around her older brother. She mentally tried to picture Cloud with red hair, that didn't look too bad, but she started to giggle when she tried to picture Cloud with a mohawk.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she replied, trying to control her humorous fit. "Just don't ever change your hair style."

Cloud gave her a strange look before shaking his head. "You're weird."

Grace huffed as she walked slightly ahead of him. "Speak for yourself, Chocobo." She had to blink to make sure she wasn't imagining it, was that an amused grin she saw?

Back at Aerith's cottage, Grace opened the door carefully, casting a smug glance at Cloud as if to instruct him in the correct way of opening doors. The swordsman just rolled his eyes.

Grace entered the room and was met with relief. Standing among the others were three new additions. Sora, Donald and Goofy.

* * *

_I apologize if anyone seemed OOC, but the issue had to be resolved. Grace herself was acting OOC and is not usually this flustered. Oh, and to make it clear, No. Grace is not an OC version of me. We share some things in common and similar tastes in music, that is all. Also, we do not share her limited knowledge of FF or KH. I know my stuff. True, I have never played the first FF7 game, but I know the storyline well enough. I do my research. ;) I've also seen/played every KH game at least once except for 358/2 Days and the end of Recoded. Grace is just one of those, over-worked, under-paid people who are too tired from their 9-5 job to enjoy their personal time off. _

_And hey, Look who showed up! Our favorite Spiky-haired Brunette! 'bout time. There's a surprise coming up in the next chapter or so, so stay tuned and I'll see you in the next update. :)  
_


	5. Breaking Under Pressure

_Well, this update came out of nowhere. I had planned for something a bit different for this chapter and yet my fingers just started moving on their own and this was what appeared. Again, not what I had planned, but I think it works out better in the long run. _

_ **Keeper of the Fading Dawn**: In the first chapter I stated that she was in her mid twenties, between 22-24 years old. However I want to thank you for bringing something important to my attention. I hadn't even described what Grace looked like. -_-; I apologize for that, but that's fixed in this chapter. _

_Hopefully I haven't left anything else out. Hope everyone enjoys the latest update. :)_

* * *

Chapter Five

The sight that lay before Grace and Cloud was nothing short of comical. Grace was giggling and even Cloud couldn't hold back a smirk, though his was more of sympathy than humor.

Zack held Sora in a head-lock and was giving him a mega noogie commenting on his spiky hair and referring to him as a special kind of chocobo. Cloud had been in that predicament before and was glad he wasn't in Sora's place.

"Okay, okay! Uncle! I give! Lemme go!"

"No way! I'm having too much fun!" Zack gave his attack an extra gusto.

Sora's eyes darted around the room, searching for someone to save him until his eyes locked on the girl standing the doorway. She saw the pleading look in his eyes and decided to lend him a hand.

"Alright, Zack. He's had enough. Let him go."

Zack stopped when he saw Grace at the door and Sora took his chance and broke free of the soldier's iron grip. Zack stood up and walked over to the two and beamed. "You found her!"

He then glared sternly at her. "Don't you ever do that again! I was worried."

He continued to lecture her, which seemed more like how a father would lecture his daughter. She suddenly looked annoyed.

"If you were so worried, then how come you didn't look for me yourself, instead of making Cloud do it?"

"Because he left before we had a chance to react."

This news surprised Grace and she looked around the room. She had expected them to make the guy feel guilty and that way force him to bring her back to fix things, but he had really left on his own? She went to look his way and smile when he headed over towards the wall by the computer. He obviously hadn't wanted Grace to know that.

She knew from experience, he was embarrassed. Grace thought it was sweet. She snapped back to reality when she saw fingers snapping two inches away from her nose.

"Hello, are you paying attention?"

"Sorry, Zack. I won't run off again. I just needed some fresh air was all."

"Good." was all he said as he patted her shoulder with a smile.

Her attention then fell on the younger teen. Sora held out his hand to her, "Thanks for the save, I'm Sora. This is-"

"Donald and Goofy." Grace finished with a smile as she shook Sora's hand. The key bearer's companions were a bit surprised that she knew who they were, but assumed maybe Leon and the others had told her about them.

Grace was amazed. When it came to video games, she was very, **very** picky and therefore, they mad to meet certain standards. The story had to be good, it had to hold certain morals that she valued and most of all, the characters had to be something special. Sora was one such character. She knew that he had a strong light within him, but seeing his actions and playing the game paled in comparison to actually being there in the same room with him. She could practically feel the light radiating from him, the light's gentle warmth traveled from his hand to hers and she instantly felt connected. Was this truly what made him get along with everyone? His personality alone could do it with ease, but it was this light, this power that truly sealed the bonds of friendship he made.

"You okay?"

Sora's question snapped Grace out of her thoughts. She really had to control that, but it was hard when she always had a bad habit of zoning out.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...been a pretty big day is all."

"What happened?" asked Goofy.

"It wasn't heartless was it?" added Donald who held his staff at the ready.

Grace could only smile. "Well, there was a group of Large Bodies that had gotten lost in the Great Maw, but Zack pointed them in the right direction."

Zack chuckled at her explanation. Grace then continued. "I don't know how you managed to run along that winding path and not get tired out Sora. I was exhausted from traveling and I was riding on a motorcycle." She smiled at the next part, "Heck, I was so tired that I didn't even noticed someone coming in the front door. I don't think this bump will _ever_ go away," she glanced over at the blonde swordsman and smirked. He had his eyes closed, but it was clear he was annoyed. He had apologized, what more did she want? Grace loved teasing him about it and like Tifa, planned to never let him live it down.

"You are feeling better though, right?" Grace looked over at Zack who seemed worried. Out of the group, he had known her the longest and had seen her break down more than once. Grace assumed he was wondering if she might do it again.

"Yeah. I'm fine now."

"I think you should tell them."

Grace looked back over at Cloud. His expression was serious and determined not to let that go. "They have a right to know."

"What's he talking about Grace?" asked Aerith.

Grace was furious. Was this his way of getting back at her? By putting her through more stress after he had calmed her down? Now Grace understood how Yuffie felt most of the time. He was always a hard person to read. There was no going back now, but she made sure to maintain damage control.

"Well, there is something that I need to tell you guys, but first I need to know what's happened around here lately," she then turned to Sora, "and I need to know what's going on in the worlds you've visited."

This caught many in the room by surprise. Most thought she was from Radiant Garden. Only two knew she wasn't.

"Sorry, we can't do that," replied Donald.

Grace gave the duck a determined look. "Don't worry. You won't upset the World Order. I already know all about the worlds, the Gummi Ship, Disney Castle, your king and pretty much everything else."

"What?!" exclaimed the traveling trio.

"Yes, it's true, but just like you three there's something I have to protect. You've got to protect the world order, but I have to do the same with something similar. That's why I need to know what's happened her recently."

Sora thought it over for a moment and Grace started to regret wanting to head back so soon. Perhaps she should have asked Cloud before it risked too much. true, he probably wasn't suppose to stumble across possible future events either, but at the same time, one person was a lot better than a room full. She had to choose her words carefully.

"How are there heartless in the Great Maw? Didn't you beat Maleficent?" Yeah, that sounded good.

"There were a lot of heartless, I took out at least a thousand," replied Sora. "I'm sure some survived and are hiding out there."

"So, the Great War happened already?" Grace sounded hopeful. Maybe this was farther along than she thought and thus made it easier to reveal more.

"Yeah, it happened a while back. In fact I found out from Leon that after we beat the MCP, Tron was able to fix the system and the world regained its real name.

"So, then this isn't Hollow Bastion anymore?"

"Nope. It's Radiant Garden, in all her glory!" replied Cid with a smirk. Grace didn't even see him until now. He hadn't been here earlier.

"Almost all, we still have to rebuild," corrected Leon.

"We're getting there. Just taking it one day at a time!" Chirped Yuffie.

"And the nobodies? what happened to them, and OrganizationXIII?" asked Grace.

"They're gone," replied Sora with a smile. "We took them down one by one. Now only Xemnas is left."

"Sora, you're forgetting something," Donald reminded him with a stern glare.

"Yeah, I was actually avoiding it to be honest. Just knowing what almost happened still creeps me out."

Grace looked at him, confused. "What do you mean? I thought you and Riku beat Xemnas in the Realm of Darkness."

Sora shook his head. "I thought we did, but he's still around. His heartless is to."

"What?!" Grace was shocked to hear this. It had taken every skill she had to beat him in the first game. He was not easy and she eternally hated his guts. He was almost as bad as Sephiroth, but at least she could win.

"How! How did both monsters survive?"

However the room was silent. Everyone was giving her a strange look.

"Grace," Leon began, "How do you know about all of this?"

Crap. Well so much for damage control. there was no going back now. The only one who didn't seem shocked was the one she had confided in. She looked at him, fear and uncertainty clear in her eyes. Cloud's gaze softened a bit as he nodded. Encouraging her to tell them.

Again, Grace found herself taking a deep breath. She could do this. They wouldn't hurt her, and they wouldn't call her crazy, not when someone else could step in and vouch for her. She would always be grateful that he had gone to look for her and believed her.

She told them. She told them everything about the games. It was hard at first, when she started revealing things that they had done or said when they knew she was never there to know about it. their shock and the unrelenting questions made it hard for her to tell the story at a steady pace. A few times Donald had thought she was a spy working for the enemy while Cid and Leon grilled her with questions. Zack's outbursts about things from his past clearly stated how he felt. Some of his outbursts were angry, while others were amazement or worry. At one point it got so bad Grace couldn't even think and she covered her ears and thought about running. She just wanted to curl up in a ball, but they wouldn't stop.

Suddenly a loud metallic clang rang through the air silencing everyone. They turned to the swordsman who had struck the metal desk with the blunt end of his sword. Cloud glared at them.

"Shut up and let her talk! She's already been though a lot and you're not helping."

Everyone looked down at the ground in shame, with the exception of those who hadn't been drilling the girl for answers; Goofy and Aerith were just listening, trying to take everything in.

Grace had fallen to her knees. The whole ordeal had exhausted her. Sora and Yuffie helped her over to the table and sat her down while Aerith got her some water.

"We're sorry," Sora spoke for the rest of them.

"No, I understand. Anyone would be suspicious if someone they've never met knew their entire life story. I guess it was easier explaining to one person at a time."

Hearing this, Leon turned over to Cloud. "You knew?"

The swordsman clipped his weapon onto his back. "She needed someone to vent to, and I didn't bombard her with questions."

"And I thank you for that." Grace took a sip of her water before she huffed in amusement. "Zack saves me from the heartless and Cloud saves me from insanity. I need to start a list of people I owe."

"Why don't we try asking her one at a time? suggested Yuffie.

"I think we should let her rest first," replied Aerith.

"Yeah, she doesn't look too good," added Goofy.

They were right. Grace was having trouble keeping her eyes open. The roller coaster of emotions combined with what she had just endured had really taken its toll. Zack walked over and helped her get back in bed. It didn't take her long and she was out.

"Why don't we head over to the study and let her rest," Aerith said to the group and they started to leave the room, one by one. Yuffie followed behind the others, but stopped when she noticed one hadn't moved.

"Aren't you coming?"

Zack took a seat at the table and set his sword leaning against the side. "Nah, just fill me in later. Besides, someone's gotta keep an eye on her."

Yuffie nodded and headed off to join the others.

It wasn't that Zack didn't want to go. He just had a feeling that she needed someone to watch out for her and he did somewhat feel responsible. He was the one who found her after all. what bothered him was how the others became suspicious of her. Leon, Donald and Cid had been practically shouting at her. Yuffie had been shouting too, but it was more from excitement. Zack had been doing the same, but stopped when she began backing into a corner. Sora was the main one who was down to earth with his questions. Like Zack he was highly curious, but he managed to keep his excitement minimal. That didn't stop the teen from asking the harder questions though. He was after all one of the few who actually traveled to other worlds. Zack had only been to one other world.

What Zack hated most was that look in her eyes. It was like those of a rabbit being cornered by a pack of hungry wolves. She wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to run. Zack would've stepped in had Cloud not beat him to it. That brought another question to Zack's mind. How much did Cloud know?

_. . ._

"Alright, spill it. What'd she tell you?"

The moment all of them had entered Ansem's study and closed the door Yuffie had begun the meeting and was currently right in the swordsman's face with her hands on her hips. He sent her a glare which made her take a few steps back.

"She's from another world."

Cid huffed as he chewed on his toothpick. "We already figured that much."

"But what world did she come from?" asked Sora.

Aerith looked thoughtful, "Zack said that he found her in the Great Maw and that she fell out of a portal that appeared in the air."

"What kind of portal?" asked Donald.

"He didn't say. Only that after she regained consciousness the heartless appeared," she replied.

Leon furrowed his brows. "We could be dealing with a new foe. Perhaps it's best if we find out who sent her and then figure out the best way to deal with her."

"Squall!"

The scarred brunette glanced over at Cloud. Their was a solid, challenging defiance in the swordsman's eyes. Leon didn't bother correcting him, knowing that look meant he was treading on dangerous ground.

"I'm just saying we shouldn't assume she's as helpless and innocent as she claims to be. Xehanort is dangerous and nothing can be ruled out when it comes to dealing with him."

However the swordsman would hear none of it. Leon couldn't believe it.

"Why are you defending her. You of all people normally don't decide unless you have all the information. What exactly did she tell you?"

"She told me all I needed to know to confirm that she isn't a threat. She knew things about me that no one else did. Not even Sephiroth."

This caught the attention of many, for several reasons. firstly because the swordsman never spoke that hateful name without reason and secondly because of the realization finally dawned on them.

"Maybe we should let the King know about this," suggested Goofy.

"I think you're right," replied Donald.

_. . ._

He was used to the darkness. The eerie silence had ceased to bother him long ago. What bothered him now were these strange sounds. Sounds he knew and yet hadn't heard in ages. not since he had made those same sounds when he had first arrived in this dark abyss.

Sobs. Quiet, and muffled, yet they echoed in the darkness and Tamashi followed those sounds until he found the source.

"Grace?"

Her sobbing increased and he became more worried. Which, was a strange feeling. He hadn't felt worried in a long time. But he couldn't dwell on that now. She needed him. "Grace, what's wrong?"

"They think I'm a threat."

Her words were hollow as if every ounce of her spirit was gone, leaving nothing but a defeated ghost. This wasn't good. The darkness prayed on the weak and if she wasn't careful it would consume her.

"Grace, that's not true and you know it."

"You didn't see the way they jumped at me! They're probably trying to think of the best way to deal with me. I...I just want to go home."

Tamashi felt sympathy for her. He hated seeing her like this. It definitely wasn't something he wanted to remember, wait...he could see her! Her blue eyes, full of tears. Her shoulder-length brown hair that was messy and covering her face. Her strange clothes. A light blue T-shirt with camouflage pants and black sneakers.

"Grace, I can see you."

At this she looked up, and her eyes widened. "You can? but, I can't see you. You're close, but where?"

Tamashi knelt down onto his knees to be level with her. "Here," he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

In that moment a power surged through both of them and the area was engulfed in a bright light which forced both of them to shut their eyes tightly. Tamashi all but screamed from the light. He had been in the darkness for so long that the dimmest of lights would have hurt, but this was so radiant, so strong - Too strong!

He felt a strange pull and heard Grace scream and then nothing.

* * *

_Well, I'm not entirely happy with everything in this chapter, but I've been working on it pretty much all afternoon and I'm satisfied. Things are finally starting to move along. not much action in this chapter, but there are some big surprises coming up. big changes to, including something Grace didn't want. The real question is, will this make it easier for everyone to trust her? Or more difficult?_


	6. Of Nightmares and Runaways

_Well, I've got some great news. Not only does this story have another awesome addition added to it, but I got some help by a wonderful reader. I won't give anything away yet, but once the new surprise makes its full appearance I'll reveal more. I tell you it's really going to kick this story into high gear. _

* * *

Chapter Six

"Grace! Come on, snap out of it! Grace!"

Zack had been sitting at the table, lost in his own thoughts and just starting to nod off when a blood-curdling scream nearly made him jump out of his skin. immediately, Zack drew his sword and took a fighting stance, ready to unleash hell on anything that meant him or the sleeping girl harm. That's when he noticed there wasn't a single enemy in sight, but Grace was tossing and turning. Another scream bellowed from her throat. Zack instantly rushed to her side, letting his sword clatter noisily to the floor.

He tried shaking her awake, that didn't work. He tried gently slapping her face, that didn't work either. What else could he do? Then he remembered. He took the water that she had been drinking before going to bed. It was still half full. Well, half was better than nothing. With a silent prayer, Zack threw the water at Grace's face. Bingo. She opened her mouth to scream at just the right moment for the water to hit her. She started to choke and slowly, she woke up.

She tried to control her coughing fit before taking deep breaths. Grace felt like she had just run a marathon before everything had suddenly come back to her. She started to sit up, but strong hands held her down. Grace looked up at him, fear and sorrow clear on her face.

Zack was beyond worried. What kind of nightmare could make her have that severe of a reaction? He was surprised her own screams hadn't woken her. He opened his mouth to say something when his enhanced hearing caught the sound of hurrying footsteps.

The front door nearly flew off its hinges as three fighters burst through. Leon, Sora and Cloud had their weapons raised, ready to strike down whatever creature had dared to attack the cottage. They only saw a defensive Zack with his sword poised for a strike. When the four realized there was no enemy they lowered their weapons.

"What is going on?" asked Leon.

"What do you mean?" countered the soldier.

"We could hear that scream all the way from the Bailey," replied Sora.

Zack relaxed. The meeting was over, but he was more concerned about Grace right now. Turning to look at her, it bothered him that she was hugging her knees to her chest with her head buried in her arms. His ears picked up the muffled sobs and his keen sense of smell detected salt. She was definitely crying.

He approached the bed and sat on the edge, looking at her. "Grace?" he asked gently, "What's wrong?" That was a dumb question, he should have asked what made her scream like a banshee.

Grace was beyond heart-broken. She didn't know what happened to Tamashi when the light came, but when it finally faded, he was gone. She could no longer feel him nearby and she couldn't hear his voice. She called and called, but no answer ever came. What she did notice was that she had been falling, though not fast like a rock, more like sinking. She landed on a surface she recognized all too well and knew it could only mean one thing. It would be a long time before she could go home, if ever. And then...then the nightmare came. It was horrible, something she never wanted to relive. What she had seen had terrified her. True, she had some bad nightmares before, sometimes they seemed so real she needed to turn on the TV just to help anchor her back to reality.

But this one was different. A voice, not Tamashi's echoed through her, chilling her to the core. It told her that the future was going to be hell and all of her friends would suffer and burn before her. It then showed her images. People she had just met writhing in pain before her until it was her turn to feel the pain. The fireball came at her and just before she felt the flames water had struck her in the face, waking her up.

Grace slowly lifted her head, seeing four pairs of eyes watching her. After what had just happened and what she had just seen she was in no mood for more questions, unless they were her own.

"Why are you looking at me like I have two heads?" Her voice was hoarse and raspy. Zack winced when he heard the pure fear in it.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Grace. We're worried about you."

"Stop saying you're worried when you're not. You obviously think I'm a threat." She glared over at Leon. "And you just want to get rid of me. I know too much, so I must be a puppet, right?"

At this both Zack and Cloud shuddered. That word stirred up bad memories for both of them, though the blonde hid it better than Zack did.

"Grace," Sora slowly approached her, making his keyblade vanish. "We know you're not a threat. You're our friend, and friends are always there for each other, no matter what."

Grace let her fury subside a bit as she looked at the others. both Zack and Cloud had sheathed their swords, Leon was the only one who kept his loosely in his hands.

She then realized how she had acted and felt a new wave of tears forming. "I'm...sorry."

Zack placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That must've been some nightmare, what happened?"

"It's worse than a nightmare,..." Grace knew what it meant. She knew all too well what she experienced meant and it would be a long time before she saw home again, if she ever did. She was now trapped in the game's storyline. An important role had been given to her and she didn't want it. She didn't want to fail and see that horrible fate befall everyone around her.

"Wanna talk about it?" asked Sora who seemed just as worried as Zack. Grace just shook her head.

Trying to focus on the other horror that wasn't the dream, she wondered what had happened to Tamashi. How could she tell them about him? She hadn't known him for long, but losing Tamashi was breaking her heart. He had been the one who was there in the dark when she was lost. She hadn't known him long enough to fully grasp his personality, but he reminded her of how a little brother would treat a sister. He was smug sometimes and gave her attitude, but he was also caring - their last meeting had proved that. What bothered her most was that he said he could see her, but she couldn't see him. Even when the light came, she tried to catch a glimpse, but saw nothing but a blinding light and then he was gone.

She couldn't tell the others how upset she was. Some of them already doubted her loyalties, what would happen if she told them she heard a voice in the darkness? She knew they'd jump to conclusions and anything she tried to say to convince them it wasn't evil would be ignored. They had already backed her into a corner once, she didn't feel like repeating it.

While Grace had been lost in her thoughts the rest of the group had caught up. Yuffie had been ranting about how fast the three could move when it came to danger yet when it came to other things they were so slow. This earned her two death glares from the older fighters and a pout from Sora.

"Ugh, Men!" she shouted and threw her arms up in the air.

another hour had passed before Grace could finally convince both Zack and Aerith that she was fine and that she only wanted to sleep. Leon was suspicious as always, but relented. Sora had left with Donald and Goofy to continue on their journey, but they promised they'd be back very soon. Grace hadn't wanted Sora to leave. If she was going to tell someone about what had happened, he was probably the only one who would understand. True, Zack and Cloud were on her side, as was Aerith and possibly Yuffie, but at the same time they wouldn't have the answers that the younger teen did.

Everything was finally quiet again and Grace was left alone to sleep. Aerith had retreated upstairs for the night, which Grace hadn't even realized this place had a second floor. They must have put it in when Merlin gave it to her.

Grace waited another twenty minutes to make sure all was quiet when she made her way to the door. Peering in the darkness she looked at the spot where the door had struck her head and couldn't help but smile. There was a nice dent in the edge of the door. Teasing Cloud just became more fun.

She stopped, why was she thinking about that now? Like she'd ever see him again, or anyone else. She was leaving. Before such a cruel fate could befall anyone she cared for, the further she was away from them the safer they were. It was also best to leave now before she learned anything they were planning against the villains in case she were caught by the enemy she wouldn't have anything of value. Well, except for her new gift. She thought of it more as a curse and was determined not to use it. With a twist of the handle she was out the door and gone.

She headed towards the Bailey and kept going. Past the steps where she had tried to compose herself earlier that day, past the machine that had been repaired. she only stopped when she tried to choose which way to go from there. Up towards Ansem's study, or towards the Great Maw and get away from everyone? She was stuck with a choice of running into either strong heartless or a member of the Restoration committee. Either one seemed just as bad at this point. It was a death sentence either way, but at least she could choose. Death by questions or go down fighting?

As if someone had read her thoughts, several shadow and soldier heartless surrounded her.

"Oh perfect. I see I don't even have the choice to decide my own fate." The heartless - twelve in all - closed in for the attack.

Grave clenched her shaking fist. "Dammit! This was supposed to be a game! All I wanted was to forget my troubles! Was that too much to ask?!"

The heartless flexed their claws and prepared to strike. Up on a nearby ledge two figures concealed by the darkness watched the scene. "Let's just see what she does." one of them said to the other who wasn't too keen on simply watching.

Grace's eyes darted around for anything she could use as a weapon. Not like she already didn't know she had one, but she wanted to avoid using it at all costs. The first heartless launched into an attack and she jumped to the side, just managing to avoid the claws. Two more came at her and she jumped back and then turned, rolling to the ground. She was actually thankful to the jocks in gym class for not taking it easy on her in dodge-ball. She had learned to avoid flying objects coming her way because of it, even though she wasn't very athletic.

The two figures on the roof continued to watch. "Still think this is a good idea? She hasn't tried to attack once." replied the impatient one.

"Maybe you're right," replied the first one. "I guess I was worried over nothing."

The second made to go down there when the first person blocked his way, "Not yet, let's give her a few more minutes."

The second figure glared at his companion before turning back to watch.

The soldiers came at her this time and one managed to kick her in the back. She stumbled forward and slammed her shoulder into the wall, grunted from the impact and hissed in pain when she tried to move her arm. The other heartless sensed her injury and prepared to charge her all at once. Grace glared at them.

Was this it? What would happen if she let them attack her? Would the game simply end and she'd wake up back in her own home? That sounded too easy and without someone holding the controller to hit the 'try again' button she'd most likely end up as another victim of the heartless. She hated feeling so useless. She had stood by, cowering like a child while Zack protected her from the Large Bodies, she just sat there and watched as Tamashi vanished before her eyes, she had broken down countless times and Grace didn't want everyone to constantly come to her rescue every time. It was pathetic! She was pathetic.

"No."

Grace turned to face the heartless, letting go of her injured arm, she glared at her enemies. "I'm not useless. I helped Damian get a job and then I helped him keep it. I stood up to my boss and helped him realize how much of a jerk he was and I changed him. I always get my projects turned in on time, I never lose my patience with irate people on the phone and for heaven's sake I got that stupid ten-year-old copy machine to work again! Like hell I'm gonna take all that just to be taken out by a bunch of stupid blobs of darkness!"

Her hand rose as she felt energy building. "Well, what are you waiting for? I need to relieve some stress. Come and get me you gutless cowards!"

Stung by her insults, they charged. Something appeared in Grace's hands and she struck out with it, killing the first three shadows and injuring a soldier. Grace jumped to the side as another came at her with a spinning kick only to return the favor by striking it from behind.

"That all you got? Come on!" She snarled as she swung again, destroying another shadow. A light appeared just above her, but she wasn't fast enough. It exploded, sending her forward and right in the middle of the remaining enemies. Grace looked up just as they pelted forward to dog-pile her, but she wasn't looking at them, nor was she looking at the Silver-Rock that had surprised her.

Two figures joined the battle and in no time flat the heartless were gone. Grace relaxed and looked down at the ground from where she fell. She should have known running from them wouldn't be easy.

Leon and Zack looked down at her from where they stood, the latter got down on one knee to check her for injuries. "You okay?"

"That's a stupid question."

Grace hadn't meant for her reply to sound as harsh as it did, but she was tired of being treated like a baby. Then again, she was also tired of acting like one. What positive thing had she done since she got there? Nothing. Not a single thing had helped them. They were all just baby sitters and she was the baby. She was twenty-two years old! Why was she acting like she was five?!

She looked up at Zack and tried to fight back the tears. "Why do you care? I've been so rotten to you ever since we met. I don't mean to, I..I'm just so lost. I'm sorry for being so stupid."

"You're not stupid." Grace looked up at Zack only to see him smiling. "I know how you feel. You live your life knowing this is how it's suppose to be and you finally find your place only for everything to be stripped away in one fell swoop and you're given a cruel glimpse of the ugly side. It's painful and confusing, but you can pull through."

He placed a hand on her shoulder only to recoil it when she hissed in pain. "Sorry," He apologized, "C'mon, let's get you back to Aerith's. A Potion or a good cure spell will fix you right up."

Grace allowed him to help her up before Leon noticed the weapon in her hand. "Is that?"

Grace looked at it for the first time herself and sighed with relief. "No, it's not a Keyblade. See?" She held the handle end up to him, "No key chain, and it doesn't resemble a key."

Taking a closer look at it, Grace could only shake her head. It figures that it would reflect her. Music played a big part in her life so it made sense that her weapon would reflect that. The handle was curved and designed to look like a G-clef while the business end resembled an Eighth note. The sword itself was almost the same length as a keyblade, however it lacked both the chain and the abilities. Grace wasn't quite sure to be confused by that or relieved. That first dream she had been to _was_ the Station of Awakening...wasn't it?

A low, muffled chuckle echoed through her mind causing Grace to shiver. She had heard that same chilling sound in her nightmare, but this time she was awake.

"Grace?" asked Zack as he noticed her behavior. what could terrify her so much?

"Let's get her back inside," advised Leon as he led the way.

Zack picked her up and carried her back, much to her protests, though they were weak at best. At this moment the last thing she wanted was to be alone. That voice and those dreams terrified her so much, too much and despite everything that had happened, she wasn't going to run from them again. Not when there was a new threat out there waiting.


	7. Training with the Greats

_I know we haven't really seen much of the Disney side of this world yet, but the other have to make sure Grace is alright before she starts traveling. Don't worry though, she will travel, just not yet. She needs some training first. _

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Over the next few days Zack had rarely left Grace's side. Only taking a break every now and then to sleep, but only when Aerith promised to be with her. It was during one such time when Leon quirked an eye brow and finally confronted Cloud about his friend's odd behavior.

The swordsman only shrugged. "Zack has a big brother complex and is very protective."

"I've noticed. Have you seen him treat anyone else that way?"

Cloud didn't even try to hide his smirk. "Me."

He made sure the girls couldn't hear them before taking on a more serious tone. "Has she had anymore nightmares since the other night?"

Leon shook his head, "Not that I know of, then again it may have something to do with her new weapon."

"What kind of weapon?"

"I'm not sure, it looks like a Keyblade, but it's not."

Cloud glanced over at Grace without looking like he was staring. Nothing seemed different about her and she wasn't exuding any kind of power. Still, it was something he was curious to see for himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout of surprise followed by a commotion coming from upstairs. That commotion quickly traveled downstairs as a panicked Zachary Fair tumbled down the steps, tangled in a blanket while wrestling with...something.

Aerith had jumped up with a hand covering her mouth in worry while Grace was struggling between worry and laughter.

Muffled grunts and growls could be heard from under the folds of the blanket. It was Aerith who approached first. "Zack? What's going on?"

"Gotcha!" came Zack's triumphant voice from the blanket until another growl was heard. "Yeowch! It bit me!"

Suddenly a fuzzy blue ball rolled out from the blanket only to change shape into a little blue creature. It looked around only to glare at the other two men in the room.

Leon knew what that creature was, but Cloud raised a confused eye brow at it.

"No way! Stitch?!"

The creature blinked and turned to see Grace. He tilted his head. "Eh?" he asked. Grace only giggled.

Zack's messy black hair appeared from the blanket revealing he was in a grumpy mood. "What kind of name is Stitch?"

Stitch turned and growled at Zack. Again it was Grace who addressed the creature.

"Seeing you here is a pleasant surprise. Aren't you one of Sora's summons?"

"Meega Sora fren," he replied then blinked and tilted his head. "You Sora fren?"

Grace smiled. "Yep."

Stitch smiled back, revealing two rows of sharp teeth and repeated her to the best of his ability. "Yep!" It then bounded over to her and Grace was most inclined to agree with what she had heard. He really was as cute and fluffy in person.

Aerith had headed over to help Zack free his legs which were hopelessly tangled in the blanket. Zack just glared at the other two. "Oh sure, just leave a poor guy at the mercy of a little monster."

"Just be thankful it's not a touch me," replied Cloud with a hint of a tease clear in his voice.

Grace's eyes widened at that. Since when did Cloud ever tease? Not the swordsman she had seen. True, she knew he had a soft, nice guy side, but a teasing side?

"Eh?" Stitch asked, wondering if she was alright.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Stitch. Just a little confused."

"About what?" asked Leon.

"Well,..." she was quick to think on her feet, "my new power for one. I mean, that night was the first time I had ever seen it, let alone use it. I'm surprised I didn't kick the bucket to be honest. I'm not really the fighting type."

"But, you said you play fighting-style video games. Isn't that the same thing?" asked Zack.

"When you play video games, all you're really doing is pushing buttons. You're not actually swinging or firing anything. Not unless you have a Wii, but I like the Playstation better-. . .What?" grace glared at Zack who held a hand over his mouth trying not to laugh.

"Unless you have a what?"

Grace face-palmed. "A Wii, Zack. W-i-i. It's a type of game console. There's also the Playstation, the X-Box and the Gameboy, of course now they're called DS's, but it's still part of the Gameboy family." She then gave up with a sigh when she realized no one else in the room understood a single thing she was saying.

"The point is, No. I have never used a weapon before in my life. I didn't even think I had it in me until that night."

"What makes you say that?" asked Leon, who was having a hard time believing she had no prior battle experience after what he had seen.

Grace rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I once cornered a snitch who was trying to get some other boys to beat me up and I had the chance to slug him in the face, but...I..."

"But what?" asked Zack.

"I...lost all the strength in my arm. I just couldn't do it. It wasn't that I'd get in trouble, I really didn't care, but it just...felt wrong."

"You shouldn't feel bad about it, the kid wasn't worth the effort."

Grace looked over at Cloud and couldn't help but smile. why was it that he always made her feel better?

"Yeah," Zack chimed in, "snitch's usually get what they deserve in the end anyway. You didn't get beat up , did you?"

At this Grace smiled. "Well, no. I actually out-smarted them. They were trying to corner me in between class periods and I darted around a corner and hid in the girl's restroom until they passed. I could see them from my hiding spot and laughed when they looked confused and split up in different directions. I followed behind one of them and slipped into class with them none the wiser."

Zack laughed and Aerith giggled while the other two just smirked and Stitch just chuckled. "Hehehe, stupid heads."

"The blue rabbit's got a point," Zack added. "In a battle between brain over brawn, the brain always wins."

"That explains why you lose most of our sparring matches," Cloud replied.

"No, I lose because you're way too fast and I'm out of practice." Zack retorted with a pout.

If one were to look closely enough they could actually see the idea flash across Zack's eyes. "Grace, come with me, I'm gonna teach you how to fight."

Grace blinked in shock. One of the few things she knew about the dark-haired fighter was that he was once a First class Soldier. He was in the same rank as Sephiroth han been before he turned evil. This made her feel both humbled and nervous. However, nothing prepared her for what happened next.

Cloud placed a hand on Zack's shoulder before he charged out of the room. "We'll both teach her. Your style is more brute force and over-powering your opponents, she doesn't have that much power, so she'll need to favor speed."

"Oh really~," asked Zack, feeling a _little _insulted, "and you think you're qualified to teach her?"

"Just so happens, that's my specialty." With that he walked out of the room and out the front door leaving a very surprised Grace with her jaw hanging open.

Zack teaching her was amazing enough, but to have _THEE _Cloud Strife training her as well? This was one of the rare occasions that she was glad this _wasn't _a dream. Zack motioned for her to follow and she eagerly hurried to catch up, falling in step behind him while secretly thanking whatever high power had gifted her with this rare honor. She felt excited, cheerful and dare she say it, giddy? Hell with it. Grace didn't even try to hide her smile. This was the best day ever!

_. . ._

This was the _worst _day ever!

Grace had been training for the past hour and she felt dead by the first thirty minutes. Zack had been a great teacher, but Cloud was right. She was not suited for strength training. Sadly, she quickly found out she wasn't that fast either. Then again her second teacher just happened to be a fricking speed demon!

Cloud moved too fast for her to follow. One second he was ten feet in front of her and the next he was right behind her with his sword pressed against her back. Grace had seen him do that before, but it was in the movie where she could actually track his fast movements and he would always go for their neck. She was just glad he seemed to be going easy on her...sort of. It didn't take a genius to realize she was way out of her league.

"You're too tense," he told her from behind.

Grace turned to see he had his sword sheathed and his arms folded while standing a few feet away. She thought he was still right behind her. "Well, it's kinda hard to relax when you're moving too fast for me to follow. I am a beginner, remember?"

Grace didn't miss the amusement on his face. "I guess I could slow down a bit more, but if it makes you feel better, why don't you make the first move?"

Grace gulped. Her attack Cloud Strife? There were so many reasons why that was a bad idea and all of them ended with her getting flipped on her back.

"Not scared, are you?" asked the blonde soldier.

Grace was not about to admit how scared she really was, then again he could probably hear her heart racing from where he stood. she took a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves before raising her -still nameless- sword and charged him.

When she got close enough she swung out but he easily caught it and deflected her away as easily as if he was swatting at a fly. Grace went stumbling before falling to her knees. She turned to see Cloud glaring at her.

"Stop flinching and don't close your eyes! That's the easiest way to get yourself killed!"

Grace tried to keep positive, especially after how emotional she had been lately, but that stung. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm just a normal girl who can't fight. I told you I didn't have it in me!"

"But, you fought off those heartless the other night," Zack protested with a hint of a whimper in his voice.

"That was, just gut instinct and I was tired of feeling so useless. I doubt I'd be able to do it again and you guys are just wasting your time!"

"...Grace."

She looked up towards the blonde only to see him charging straight at her, sword drawn and poised to strike. She only had a second to react by jumping out of the way. He barely gave her a chance to get her footing before charging her again. Grace side-stepped and jumped back before rolling to the side, just missing the deadly blade of the fusion sword. He turned and swiped at her again. Grace's arm shot up with her sword and blocked the hit. It was then that Grace realized there was no power behind the swordsman's swings. This was still a test, but that didn't mean he wasn't serious.

He swung the blade low, forcing her to jump into the air as the sword swept under her feet. Grace had no idea how she was doing this, but she was not about to complain. It was only when she stepped to the side that she noticed a small opening. The instant he struck low, aiming to sweep at her feet again, she only raised one foot while stomping down on the blade with the other, after that she didn't expect what happened next as it surprised everyone.

Cloud stepped back and rubbed his cheek. Zack's jaw hung open and Grace's eyes were wide with shock.

She had just punched Cloud!

"You're stronger than you think," he replied, still rubbing the side of his face. Grace still just stood still as a statue, her sword clattered to the ground.

Zack howled with laughter while Cloud smirked at her. "I'm fine Grace, believe me, I've taken worse hits before."

"B-but, I...actually _hit _you!" she blurted out, still not believing what just happened.

Cloud just shrugged. "At least you proved you can fight."

Zack bounded up to them. "Did she ever! Seriously, where'd those moves come from?"

Grace looked down at her own weapon, her eyes blinking rapidly, still wide with shock. "I...don't know. I saw him coming and I just...reacted."

In truth, Grace had no idea how she did it. She had never been that agile before. Sure P.E. in high school could count for some of it, but nothing like this. She didn't go to a gym, she didn't work out, heck she didn't even jog in the morning...unless you counted running to catch the bus to work, but she was more than often early, so it was just a brisk walk. But even if she were fit, there was no was she should be able to go toe to toe with Cloud, whether he was taking ti easy on her or not.

The blonde seemed was the only calm one of the three. Zack was excited and Grace was on the verge of panic. "The answer is obvious. You've got good instincts. That's what was controlling your moves."

Grace looked at him. "But, I'm clumsy and my instincts have never saved me back home, at least not on this level."

Cloud resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If she only knew how he started out. It was Zack who answered her. "Maybe it's got something to do with your sword...it is a sword, right?"

Grace nodded. "I haven't thought of a name for it yet."

_. . ._

Later that night Grace was sitting on the roof of the cottage looking at her sword and swinging it. Ever since Zack had brought it up, Grace couldn't stop thinking about a possible name for her new weapon. According to the ex-SOLDIER naming a sword was just as important as naming a ship. It was considered bad luck to leave it without a name because it was that name that bonded a sword to its wielder.

Grace didn't exactly understand how that worked, but figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when she was stuck in a world where apparently anything was possible. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had punched Cloud in the face. She knew she hadn't hurt him in the least, but it was the shock itself that stunned her. In all honesty, she felt like she had been on the receiving end of that blow.

"You okay?"

Grace looked up to see Aerith standing behind her. "Yeah, just thinking about what happened earlier."

The flower girl only smiled warmly at her, "May I join you?"

Grace nodded with a smile and made room for her as she took a seat. "I heard what happened during your training. How are you feeling?"

"A bit shocked, I can't believe I hit him. I know I didn't hurt him, but It actually scared me a little. I didn't think I had the nerve to do that."

Aerith's smile never wavered. "Cloud's been complimenting you downstairs."

"He what?"

Aerith nodded, "He and Zack both. Cloud said you had potential to be a strong sword fighter."

Grace knew Aerith wasn't one to lie, but she had a hard time believing her, the flower girl continued. "Zack said you reminded him of Cloud when they first met."

"What? how? I am no where near like Cloud. He's so skilled."

"He wasn't always," she replied. "According to Zack he was a very clumsy cadet and he tripped a lot."

"I'm sorry, Aerith, but I find that hard to believe."

Aerith just shrugged. "I don't blame you, but if you're curious to find out, maybe you should ask him?"

Grace did want to know something about the swordsman, but it had nothing to do with his fighting skill. "Aerith, what happened to him? I've never known him to be so...upbeat. He definitely wasn't always this cheerful, what happened?"

She only smiled. "It was all thanks to Zack. Part of Cloud's darkness was caused by guilt for losing his best friend, but when he vanished with Sephiroth during their last fight Zack showed up and together they defeated Sephiroth."

Grace was amazed to hear that story, while she had never been able to beat the silver-haired villain in the game herself, she had seen what happens afterwards in a video online. Cloud and Sephiroth had vanished in a burst of light and you didn't see him after that. that was another reason why she didn't want to beat Sephiroth. She enjoyed strolling through the market area of the town and seeing the swordsman pacing in the square.

Aerith stood up and straightened out her dress before turning to head back in. "Leon wanted me to tell you that Sora will be back tomorrow. They found someone who knows you."

Grace blinked. "Someone who knows me? Who?"

the flower girl only shrugged. "They didn't say."

* * *

_Next chapter we'll start to see some big changes and will Grace ever get off of Radiant Garden? Find out next chapter. _


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